Putting Up Beans

I guess producing more than you can consume runs in the family. My dad picked a huge mess of green beans the other day from his family garden and ask me if I would take the extras. This season he has already canned over 20 quarts for both he and my mom. Since they have also been eating snap beans on a daily basis we get to reap the benefits and can keep this weeks 2 acre farm pickings soley for market instead of holding some of the beans back for ourselves.

This morning I canned seven quarts of his green beans for winter and still had two quarts left over to cook up for dinner tonight. My goal is to can at least thirty quarts of snap (green) beans for winter.  This shouldn't be too hard condsidering I just planted another 120 feet of beans today and will plant another 120 feet at the end of July.

So far this market season I have canned 7 quarts of beans, 4 pints of carrots, 8 pints of blueberry syrup, 6 half pints of strawberry jam,  and 2 pints of black raspberry jam. I can't even begin to list off everything we will have put up before the season ends but here is a sampling if anyone is curious: apple sauce, apple butter, peach jam, cabbage soup, vegetable soup, salsa, tomato juice, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, tomato and chile sauce... to name a few.  Perhaps I should start a running canning list to accompany the harvest list...